The Liberals want police to resume the search of an East Coast tip for a pushbike ridden 19 years ago by missing German tourist, Nancy Grunwaldt.

An excavator started digging at the site on Monday after a tip-off from a Launceston man.

Police could not find the bike and called off the search yesterday.

The Liberals' Elise Archer blames state budget cuts.

"The police minister needs to firstly demonstrate and indicate how he's going to approach these cases into the future, how he's going to fund it, and more importantly, whether he's going to provide further funding needed to continue the search at the Bicheno tip," she said.

Detective Inspector Scott Flude says money is not an issue in serious investigations like that of Ms Grunwaldt's disappearance.